How to pronounce
in Mandarin Chinese
shīFirst tonebàiFourth tone
Hear it in conversation
diàn电yuán源de的模kuài块kě可néng能jiù就huì会zhuǎn转huàn换shī失bài败
qián前miàn面dōu都hěn很hǎo好,zuì最hòu后yī一bù步fā发酵shī失bài败
Select a word for its meaning.
See it in a sentence.
。
This plan failed completely.
。
I take accountability for my mistake.
That experiment was a failure.
Hear the difference
A syllable has a shape.
Tone marks show how pitch changes. Colors help you follow each syllable in the app.
ā →First toneHigh and level
á ↗Second toneRising
ǎ ↘↗Third toneLow, then rising in isolation
à ↘Fourth toneFalling
a ·Neutral toneShort and light
These are dictionary tones. In natural speech, tones can change with context. A third tone often stays low before another syllable.